Creamy chicken-noodle casserole with spinach and mushrooms

6 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 pounds Skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1½ cup Water; approximate
2 larges Garlic cloves; minced
1 Bay leaf
⅓ cup All-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Cornstarch
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 tablespoon Fresh tarragon OR 1-tsp dried tarragon
1 teaspoon Salt; or less
⅛ teaspoon Ground nutmeg; or to taste
¼ cup Dry white wine
10 ounces Frozen spinach; thawed and squeezed dry
8 ounces Spinach pasta; fresh
8 ounces Mushrooms; sliced
1½ teaspoon Olive oil OR olive oil spray
¾ cup Fresh breadcrumbs; coarsely ground from French bread
¼ cup Parmesan cheese; freshly grated

Directions

WHITE SAUCE

ADD

TOPPING

COOK CHICKEN: Combine chicken, 1 cup water, garlic and bay leaf in large saucepan. Cover and simmer just until chicken is cooked through, turning once, about 15 min. Transfer chicken to plate; cool. Shred chicken. Pour cooking liquid into measuring ing cup, adding more water to measure 1 cup if necessary. Reserve cooking liquid.

WHITE SAUCE: Whisk flour and cornstarch in heavy large saucepan. Add 1 cup milk; whisk until smooth. Stir in 1 cup milk, tarragon, salt, nutmeg and reserved 1 cup chicken cooking liquid. Stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils, about 5 minutes. Add wine; stir until mixture is very thick about 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Stir in shredded chicken and spinach.

(Can be made 1 day ahead to this point. Cover and chill. Rewarm over medium-low heat, stirring frequently before continuing.) Preheat oven to 400F. Spray an 11x7x2 inch glass baking dish.

PASTA: Cook fettuccine it large pot of boiling salted water unto just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Return to pot. Add mushrooms and chicken mixture ture; toss. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to prepared baking dish.

CRUMB TOPPING: Heat oil in small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Add breadcrumbs; stir 1 minute. Sprinkle over casserole. Bake until casserole bubbles and breadcrumb are golden, about 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

PER SERVING: calories, 335; total fat, 6 g or 16%cff; saturated fat, 2g; cholesterol, 82 mg.

PAT'S VARIATION: Low-fat milk is the base for the cream sauce; the dish resembles fettucine alfredo. We had leftover chicken from another meal that totaled about 2 ounces per serving. White sauce would not thicken without some oil so 1 teaspoon whipped butter was added to the liquids. We used a combination of flour ("Dry" roux) and cornstarch and a pinch of salt.

Chardonay, fresh tarragon and a more generous helping of nutmeg completed the sauce. We used a combination of short curly "egg" noodles and linguini.

The assembly was as stated above with one exception. Instead of spinach, we used 2 collard leaves per serving: trimmed, stripped and julienned; sauted briefly (to a bright green) in nonstick pan sprayed with butter flavored corn oil. The crumbs, too were sauted in spray instead of oil. Baked at 400F for about 22 minutes. Served with freshly grated Parmesan. One-quarter acorn squash and cranberry conserve completed the meal. A little dry but very tasty, especially with the extra pinches of nutmeg. - - phannema@...

*"The Lighter Side of Casseroles," article by Jim Fobel for Bon Appetit (1998:Feb p.66). Quintessential home cooking, casseroles can be heavy on flavor but light on fat and calories. Also available: Lighter Than Mom's Tuna-Noodle Casserole and the Mixed-Mushroom Lasagna with Parmesan Sauce, both updated versions of time-honored dishes.

Recipe by: Jim Fobel (1998-Feb) Bon Appetit* Posted to MC-Recipe Digest by KitPATh <phannema@...> on Feb 11, 1998

Related recipes